Category Archives: Hospital Professionals

The Importance of Education for Informal Caregivers

Members of the First United Methodist Church in Arlington Heights, IL attend an Eldercare Educational Program about Understanding the Continuum of Eldercare.

Today, family members and other private individuals provide the bulk of care for frail older adults. According to The National Alliance for Caregiving, approximately 34.2 million Americans have provided unpaid care to an adult age 50 or older in the prior 12 months.  The assigned dollar value of unpaid caregiving is a staggering $470 billion.

Informal caregivers are a critical link in the system of eldercare. The care and support that is provided delays, and may even prevent the need for institutional care. Equally, we must acknowledge the financial impact that the informal caregiving system has on our nation. Consider the increased stress on the Medicaid system without these caregivers.

The American Association of Retired Persons offers a terrific directory of resources available to family caregivers. There are many agencies, both public and private, that exist to provide resources for family caregivers. To that end, caregivers can access website links, pamphlets, resource guides, and a plethora of other informational sources.

Importance of Education for Caregivers

Yet, with all of these resources, so many family caregivers still feel lost and overwhelmed. I have observed many caregivers who don’t know what they don’t know.  In addition, it is paralyzing for them to know where to start.

Caregiver education should be a more robust component of our eldercare system.  Education that leads to increased knowledge is necessary so that people can feel empowered and access the correct resources.

Caregivers need to understand the process of aging.  As astutely stated by The Age-u-cate Training Institute, it is hard to care for someone that you don’t understand.  Consequently, when caregivers feel like they are in the dark, stress, and frustration ensues.  Therefore, helping caregivers to understand what is going on will better equip them to find the right resources and ask the right questions.  Knowledge is empowering.

To list, a sample of educational topics for caregivers:

Creating opportunities to provide knowledge will increase understanding and compassion, reduce stress, and strengthen the process of caregiving.  In addition, it will improve the relationships between caregiver and receiver.

 

Julie has worked in Aging Services for over 30 years and has been a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator since 1990. She is a Certified Master Trainer with the AGE-u-cate Training Institute. Through her company Enlighten Eldercare,  Julie provides training and educational programs on elder caregiving for family and professional caregivers.  She is an instructor and the Interim Director of Gerontology at Northern Illinois University and lives in the Chicago Northwest Suburb of Mount Prospect, IL.

Wisdom from a Friend with Dementia

 

Seek the wisdom that can be lost under the weight of memory loss in persons living with dementia.

Dementia hit close to home for me recently. It had probably been six or so years since I had last seen a friend and former co-worker. He had fallen out of sight, and now I know why. I learned of his whereabouts and paid him a visit. It started with mild cognitive impairment that has advanced to late-mid stage dementia.

I was so glad that he recognized me. We had a wonderful conversation and reminisced about people we knew and past work projects. But, as time went on, he became lost in the conversation. He was evaluating proposals, preparing to consult, and critiquing management.

Always contemplating, analyzing, envisioning, planning. That is what this man did. The beautiful thing, he still is.  The wisdom is there when entering his reality.

Wisdom

My friend said some pretty amazing things. The first was when we were talking about purpose in life. “We all need to germinate something wonderful and wise,” he said. My friend is eager to share his wisdom, and being surrounded by people who will listen provides him purpose and quality of life.

Referring to the people who work where he lives, he said that it is just as important for him to know them as it is for them to know him. It pleases him when people call him by name. It is important to him that they know who he is, and he delights when introducing his caregivers by name.

The importance of relationships between care partners is something my friend taught others back in the day. In fact, he introduced me to David Troxel’s philosophy, “Best Friends Approach to Dementia Care.” I saw before my eyes how incredibly important that is for my friend.

It is comforting to know that my friend’s personhood, the things that make him special, are still there.  Dementia does not define him. He has long-term memories with attached feelings. He continues to teach others about dementia- both how to live with it and what it takes to provide good care with quality of life.

I asked if I could share his wisdom in a blog. He said he had to think about it and then asked what the distribution and market reach would be. Yep- always thinking.

May we always seek to know the person living with dementia, and let them know us too.  Seek their wisdom, you will learn much.

Julie has worked in Aging Services for over 30 years and has been a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator since 1990. She is a Certified Master Trainer with the AGE-u-cate Training Institute. Through her company Enlighten Eldercare,  Julie provides training and educational programs on elder caregiving for family and professional caregivers.  She is an instructor and the Interim Director of Gerontology at Northern Illinois University and lives in the Chicago Northwest Suburb of Mount Prospect, IL.

Retention Culture: Antidote to C.N.A Turnover in LTC

Shaping organizational culture and respect for Certified Nursing Assistants can impact retention.

Kathy Dreyer penned a terrific post last week about Long Term Care Certified Nursing Assistants and turnover. This issue has been identified as a crisis. I submit that it is also a tragedy, because, we have ignored the problem with the lack of a national strategy.

Certified Nursing Assistants are the backbone of care in long term care. They provide care for those that nobody else can, or will.

Our nation’s 1.3 million nursing home residents depend on C.N.As  365 days of the year for personal care of all types and levels. This is not an easy job. But those that continue to do this work know that it is also soul-filling and rewarding. But, what else makes some stick with it?

Retention Through Culture and Respect

A 2009 study found that an organizational culture that respects and invests in their workers inspires retention. To that end, I submit that Certified Nursing Assistants in Long Term Care do not receive the recognition they deserve.

Nationally, nothing has been done to advance the vocation. Additionally, at the state level, dismal Medicaid reimbursement has a disastrous effect on wages. Consequently, all we can directly control is our organizational culture.

If we truly value our seniors, we should vigorously value the people who are taking care of them, day in and day out.  An article in Provider Magazine speaks to the importance of respecting certified nursing assistants as individuals to retention.

Concrete Steps

  • Invest in training and education. Help C.N.As grow,  and acquire new skills (refer to previous blog for more ideas).
  • Tell their wonderful stories. Profile C.N.As who live the values of your organization and contribute to a high quality of life and care.
  • Lift them to your residents, family members, and the larger community.
  • Arrange for regular scheduled time off the floor with coverage to participate in QAPI initiatives.
  • Ask for their opinions, ideas, and find ways they can contribute to decision making.
  • Intentionally incorporate into their schedule time for relationship building. In addition, allow them to spend time with elders outside of their job as a caregiver- as a human being that enriches life.
  • Find ways that your C.N.As can share their gifts and talents with co-workers, residents and family members.

Ponder whether your organizational culture truly respects not just the work, but the personhood of your Certified Nursing Assistants. In doing so, you may realize improved retention, the antidote to turnover.

Julie has worked in Aging Services for over 30 years and has been a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator since 1990. She is a Certified Master Trainer with the AGE-u-cate Training Institute. Through her company Enlighten Eldercare,  Julie provides training and educational programs on elder caregiving for family and professional caregivers.  She is an instructor and the Interim Director of Gerontology at Northern Illinois University and lives in the Chicago Northwest Suburb of Mount Prospect, IL.

Education First in Dementia Care

Foundational Education is critical for inexperienced caregivers of persons with Dementia. Don’t rely on understanding through experience alone.

Working in senior care for over 30 years, it takes digging deep to recall my early experiences interacting with the elderly and those with dementia.  I was a volunteer and an intern during college when my first encounters occurred.

My experiences were mostly pleasant and fun. The people were just older versions of my grandparents. I enjoyed visiting with the independent seniors. They showed me around their cute apartments and told me stories.  However, encountering people with dementia was another story.

It puzzled me when one lady repeatedly said, “I want to go home,” when she was at home. I didn’t know what to say. One lady forgot that I was picking her up for a concert, even though I reminded her the day before. I thought maybe she didn’t want to go after all.

Little did I know that these people had Alzheimer’s Disease.  Learning that their memory was impaired, I assumed they had NO memory.  Therefore, I thought it was my job to remind them of everything.  I thought their brains could be fixed. I was wrong about a lot of things, albeit well-intentioned.

Learning Through Education and Experience

Over-time, I “got it” and became more comfortable being around people with dementia.  My confidence grew as time went on.  I learned that the things they said and their behaviors didn’t define their personhood. Consequently, I came to enjoy being with them.

Looking back, I can see how extraordinarily helpful training like Dementia Live would have been. I genuinely think it would have propelled my understanding and improved my interactions ten-fold.  Webinars and lectures barely scratch the surface to learn what it takes to promote quality of life for persons with dementia.

Time and experience alone should not be our only path to understanding.  The valuable lessons that the  Dementia Live experience teaches learners include:

  • persons with dementia experience feelings, even with impaired memory
  • their behaviors are a form of communication
  • the environment makes a big difference in their ability to connect
  • purpose in life is still essential for their well-being
  • our communication approaches can make or break an interaction

Learning does comes with time and experience.  However, I submit that ground zero isn’t the best place to start.  People with dementia deserve better than to be surrounded by uninformed, clueless people, such as I was years ago.

 

Julie has worked in Aging Services for over 30 years and has been a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator since 1990. She is a Certified Master Trainer with the AGE-u-cate Training Institute. Through her company Enlighten Eldercare,  Julie provides training and educational programs on elder caregiving for family and professional caregivers.  She is an instructor and the Interim Director of Gerontology at Northern Illinois University and lives in the Chicago Northwest Suburb of Mount Prospect, IL.